Blog Posts for Darlene Arden

What Happened to Musical Theatre?

Darlene Arden — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:21:28 -0800

I've had a good bit of time to think about this, off and on. Musical Theatre was an early love and the direction in which my life was headed once upon a time. I was traveling for two weeks not terribly long ago. I flew into Wichita, KS, spent the night there and then my best friend/chosen sister and I drove from Kansas, through the Oklahoma Panhandle, into Texas, spending the night in Amarillo, ...

Heroes

Darlene Arden — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:46:43 -0700

Once again The Red Room challenges its authors and members to blog on a specific topic. How interesting that they should choose "Heroes." I've recently been lamenting the fact that there are no heroes today. Not in the sense that there were in the past, larger than life people who unselfishly gave of themselves to help others, who made a real difference. Mainly there have been unsung ...

What Are Your Obsessions? Your Passions? Your Fixations

Darlene Arden — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:37:23 -0700

Yes, The Red Room is at it again - asking us to blog on a specific topic, a challenging topic.I think my passion is pretty obvious: speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. It has manifested itself in my books, articles, lectures, etc. on making life better for dogs and cats and strengthening the human-animal bond.I had, at one time, been pretty well known in some circles for my ...

Hitting the Road Again...

Darlene Arden — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:26:21 -0700

Each Summer I drive to Pennsylvania to teach 4 sections of the Dog Training and Management Certificate Program at Kutztown University. The University has been wonderfully flexible in allowing me to do this in one long day, rather than do the long commute from Massachusetts on four separate weekends. I'm very grateful for that. My teaching day begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m., ...

What was a misstep that you (or your publisher) made with publishing your first book and what would you do differently?

Darlene Arden — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:26:04 -0700

Leave it to the Red Room to come up with such a great topic! If only I'd had the answers back then....There are so many but they're missteps over which the author usually has no control, especially with a first book. Even though I had written countless articles for magazines and newspapers before I wrote my first book I was at Square One in a new - for me - medium.The most obvious example is the ...

Kari Winters

Darlene Arden — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:58:55 -0700

For most of you the name Kari Winters may not mean much but for me, the name is more meaningful than words can say. Kari Winters was known in a niche market within a niche market. Kari, a multi-award winning cat writer was found dead in her home three weeks ago. In her too-short life, Kari made a difference for more cats, dogs and people than anyone will ever know. Certainly Kari never kept ...

"The Wicked Wit of the West"

Darlene Arden — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:50:54 -0700

It's not often that I feel compelled to shout from the rooftops about a new book. This is one of those rare times when I've found a book I want to recommend to absolutely everyone who loves films, who loves the history of films."The Wicked Wit of the West" is the story of the last of the Golden-Age screenwriters. Irving Brecher is responsible for more wonderful moments of film, ...

A Tale of The Tail(s)

Darlene Arden — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:57:08 -0700

I was more than a little surprised to receive an e-mail from Huntington W. Sharp, one of my favorite people in the Red Room. He was working on a blog about the authors and writers whose profile photos feature four-legged companions. In about 50 words he wanted a description of the four-legged friends. What a terrific idea!I was particularly happy to have the opportunity to explain about the ...

The First Puppy

Darlene Arden — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:49:52 -0700

Much interest has been devoted to the Obama's dog. What would they choose, especially with a child who has allergies. Malia, age 10, and Sasha, age 7 were promised a puppy. Much was made of "hypoallergenic" breeds. One television dog trainer enthused, on one of those syndicated celebrity TV programs, that they should get one. Well, here's a news flash: there's no such thing as a ...

International "Buy Indie Day"

Darlene Arden — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:22:11 -0700

I was browsing Twitter when I saw a post from thriller author, Joseph Finder. Yes, I follow him; he doesn't follow me. He came up with a great idea and floated it out on Twitter. He wanted to create a day for people to support Independent Bookstores. I'm probably one of many who suggested that he set up an Event Page on Facebook. Clinton Bookstore in New Jersey, also on Facebook and Twitter, ...